Authorities in Pueblo County on Monday are investigating a “likely” murder-suicide in the town of Rye.
Deputies were called to a home on a welfare check when they discovered a man and a woman dead each with a gunshot wound to the head, the county sheriff’s office said in a news release.
“Inside the home was a strong smell of petroleum fuel and a combustible stove set at dangerous temperatures, making the structure unsafe,” the release said.
Lisa Shorter, a spokeswoman for the county sheriff’s office, said investigators are not willing to definitely call the case a murder-suicide because it is so early in the investigation. She said, however, that is “likely” the case.
Officials say they don’t believe there is any further public threat.
Investigators say they were called to the home by a concerned friend who reported a man was refusing to leave the residence.
“The circumstances and motivation for such a tragedy is something our detectives will work to figure out,” Sheriff Kirk Taylor said in a statement.
Authorities have not released the peoples’ names.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office at 719-583-6250.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or @JesseAPaul
